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Nagara
Nagara or officially the Kingdom of Nagara is an island kingdom in the Temur Sea. It is an hereditary monarchy with the current ruler being Queen Ana Orpheus Neve the II. It gets it's name from the city of Nagara which also serves as its capital. It's home to around 7 million people with around a million of which live in the capital. Climate Nagara has a subtropical climate with very mild winters and very warm to hot summers. Snowfall only occurs in the Muro Serra mountain range. Rain occurs mostly during the winter and spring months with the summer and autumn months being mostly dry. Political Overview Thanks to being both culturally and geographically in between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms has allowed Nagara to prosper from trade. Both the capital and Porto Cadaval are large trade hubs and stop off points for traders traveling from the North to the South (or vice versa). This has allowed Nagara to remain outside of international conflicts. Aside from a few wars fought with the Temurid Empire it has mostly remained in the good graces of every other nation. Internal conflicts however are common. In its 1200 year history Nagara has had many civil conflicts. The most recent one ended only thirty years ago. The new invaders have yet to bother Nagara but with the recent fall of the capital of the Temurid Empire rumors abound that the island will be the next to be attacked. Demographic Overview Nagara is one of the most diverse countries in the known world. Thanks to its central role in trade and culture it has managed to attract peoples of all creeds and faiths to its shore. This is especially true for the capital where around 20% of the residents are of foreign descent. Most people in the kingdom speak Vulgare Telarum or by its common name Trade. The nobility speak Telarum Nobilis a much more archaic and complicated form of Telaran that the nobility still uses to converse. A large section of the population also speak Rusu as that is the language of the original native people of Nagra. The main religion of Nagara is the Church of the Aspect though other faiths are allowed to be practiced on the island. History of the Kingdom Founding (5 FoT to 12 FoT) Nagara hasn't always been an island before the fall of the Telar Empire it was a peninsula on the Southern Continent. It was inhabited by the Rusu tribes and was one of the few parts of the continent not conquered by Telarans during the height of their empire. Maybe because of this when the Fall happened and a large chunk of the Southern Continent fell into the sea Nagara remained intact. There wasn't peace on the island for long as only five years later the people who'd become known as Nagarans landed and made war on the Rusu tribes. These invaders were made up of the peoples living on the island of Crescente who'd been a client kingdom of Telar for most of their history but with the Fall they're lands had become blighted and for the most part uninhabitable. They were led by a minor noble called Fernando Ortega Alonso de Andalus who had organized the exodus. The campaign was long and bloody but eventually with the battle of Bosque the native armies were routed and the leaders of the Rusu tribes were captured. Leaderless the Rusu surrendered and were pacified. Fernando Ortega Alonso de Andalus I (also known as the Protector) was crowned king and he made his seat in the ancient ruins of Nagara. The kingdom was still at this point called Crescente. Most of the old noble families who had power on Crescente were stripped of their titles and the new gentry were raised from among those that had aided him in war. Expansion, War of the Petty Dukes and Renaming (12 FoT to 211 FoT) The next two hundred years were periods of growth. New cities were constructed and castles built. Trade relations were also established with the Temurid Empire and the developing Southern Kingdoms. The only conflict that happened during this period was a Rusu peasant uprising in 142 FoT that Gascon I the Builder put down. However by 209 FoT the descendants of the old gentry of Crescente grew restless with their lot and allying themselves with some Rusu terrorists tried to overthrow King Fernando III the Renamer. This lead to the War of the Petty Dukes. In the beginning the aggressors had the advantage taking Porto Cadaval and marching their army to besiege Nagara. The siege however failed as Nagara managed to ship supplies in while the besiegers starved. Eventually the armies of the King sallied out during the night and managed to rout or kill most of the forces of the Petty Dukes. Those that weren't killed were then exiled back to Crescente. It is also after this war that the kingdom was renamed Nagara to separate it from the island they had come from. Holy Wars and Wars of Succession (214 FoT to 506 FoT) The next three hundred years were a period of instability with an on and off religious war with the Temurid Empire leading to a stop in trade with the north. The depleted resources from the stop of trade and the constant warring led to dissatisfaction with the monarchy among the nobility. Because of this two wars of succession were fought at the end of this period. It began with the death of Fernando IV the Eager in 454 FoT whose first born Jose II was seen as weak and decadent. His younger brother Antonio I backed by some of the more powerful noble houses sought to dethrone the king. The Brothers War was a short but costly war being decided in one battle. Two months into the war Antonio's troops ambushed Jose II as he was leaving with his army from Nagara. The Battle of Viamunde saw the two armies fight to the death as neither was willing to break. The day was won out by Antonio when the Almeida family betrayed the king when they arrived on the battlefield and joined up with Antonio. After the battle Jose II was executed and Antonio I took the throne. He held onto power for three months and managed to get crowned when he was poisoned by his sister Teresa. By succession law this left the throne to the youngest brother Enrique but since the young boy was only six the nobility raised up Teresa I the Poisoner who they saw as someone who could bring much needed stability. It also helped that she was married to the Emanuel Almeida the betrayer who won the war for Antonio. Teresa ruled unchallenged for close to ten years until Enrique came of age and seeking out the help of other nobility sought to retake his throne. The war that followed was long and divided the nation. After close to three years of fighting Teresa finally managed capture her young brother and execute him. This ended the war but began the feud between the nobility of northern Nagara (the dragons) and southern Nagara (the swans) that continues to the current time. Plague and Naval Dominance (506 FoT to 789 FoT) After that Nagara stayed out of war for two hundred years rebuilding a country ravaged by war. Trade relations were reopened with the Temurid Empire and thus the rest of the Northern Kingdoms. In addition Nagara began trading directly with the Most Holy Kingdom of Tian this opened a whole new avenue of wealth for them. The Nagaran navy saw itself become dominant during this period. The only black spot during this period is a large scale Han Flu epidemic which saw close to a quarter of the island's population die. Peasant Uprising and the Fall of the Andalus Dynasty (789 FoT to 793 FoT) In 789 FoT Queen Ana I the Lost came to take the throne. Her father Fernando VI the Sailor had bankrupted the kingdom by doubling the size of the Nagaran fleet. In addition to that he funded two voyages to discover the mythic third continent one was sent east while the other west. Both voyages had used four carrack style ships that were expensive to replace. Because of this the new Queen had to marry a Chelicean prince since the royal family of Chelice were willing to fund the union. The new prince consort was universally hated and the overindulgence and blasphemous nature of the married couple caused much anger in the peasants who were still under heavy taxation to get the kingdom out of debt. This came to ahead in 790 FoT when the a small altercation between a peasant and a noble son in the village of Kistarenye grew into a full scale peasant rebellion. This time both Nagaran and Rusu peasants united to fight against the nobility. They came to be led by a young man called Nikolai Vranchev (or Palach to his people) who by using clever tactics and stealth managed to defeat two armies sent against him. Soon after that the peasants took Catelo de Tariz and sent off demands to the Queen and prince consort. The Queen at this point very panicked called the rest of her banners and sent them off to deal with the peasants. That army was led by Grand Duke Orus Neve who was one of the many southern lords still holding a grudge against the crown and the northern lords. Instead of making a quick march to Tariz the Duke delayed and let the peasants gather even more strength. In the summer of 792 FoT Nikolai led his army to besiege Nagara. The Duke finally made his move and hit the besiegers in the back. In open battle the peasants broke and the rebellion was crushed. Nikolai himself survived and would continue being a pain in the nobility's side. The Duke's army was welcomed into the city as heroes. Once they were inside Orus proceeded with his army to the palace and demanded that the Queen surrender her throne or face death. With no other option the Queen abdicated in favour of the Duke. She and her husband were sent into exile that same day. Thus King Orus Neve I the Swan was crowned. The War of Dragon and Swan and the Signing of the Concord (794 FoT to 901 FoT) Almost all the northern Nagaran lords thought that the exile of Queen Ana I was unlawful and wrong but since no one really wanted her to come back it was tolerated in the beginning. Aside from these protests the first year of Orus I reign was successful. Peace was restored to many villages that were still holding out in rebellion and the Tariz was recaptured from the token force of peasants that still held it. This all changed in the year 794 when the King tried to strip a dukedom from Duke Enrique Braga. There isn't consensus as to why the King did this but it's effects were immediate. The northern lords came out in open revolt in support of Braga while the southern lords gathered to defend their King. The kingdom didn't however descend into all out war until around 800 FoT as the recent uprising had depleted everyone's armies. By that point however the two factions had split into many smaller factions. Although later historians would label it the War of Dragon and Swan the actual fighting happened between countless noble factions. Which is also why it continued on for so long. Even after the death of Orus I in battle against Duke Braga's forces in 834 FoT. Two more Neve rulers would take the throne before a peace was finally worked out in 901 FoT. It was signed by Queen Elena II the Golden who also married one of the sons of the Bragas dynasty to cement the peace. In 901 the Concord was signed it significantly limited the power of the King. It gave every one protection from illegal imprisonment and stripping of title, Limits were set for taxation that could only be increased in times of crisis by the decision of the council of high nobility. The king also cannot raise the armies of vassals whose forces have been critically depleted unless in time of crisis by decision of the council of high nobility. In addition a lot of laws were either changed or clarified giving for the first time a clear document of law for judges to follow and refer back to. Decline in Church Power, New Technologies and the Temurid Invasion (901 FoT to 1064 FoT) Following the War of Dragon and Swan the kingdom spent the next hundred fifty years getting back on it's feet. Castles were refurbished. War ravaged lands that had been abandoned were repopulated. Queen Elena II enacted many policies that allowed for more foreigners to make their homes in Nagara to encourage population growth. To support decisions the Religious Freedom Act was passed allowing for a citizen to have the freedom to practice any religion in the privacy of their own home. The Church of the Aspect pushed back against these changes and Queen Elena II had a serious falling out with them over it. The divide deepened when she secularized many schools that had previously been run by the Aspect of Learning allowing commoners easier access to education. Along similar lines it no longer it became necessary for judges and advocates to be priests of the Aspect of Law. After this the Queen was for a brief time branded a heretic and corruptress. There was even talks of holy war against her but she died before any of those were finalized. Her son Orus II the General was a much more traditionally minded ruler but he did not reverse any of his mother's decisions. Not much interested in law or state affairs Orus II revolutionized the Nagaran military and navy by introducing gunpowder and the cannon to both. He also cemented the use of professional standing armies which previous Nagaran rulers had used but Orus II popularized and ratified by law. This growth in military power scared the Temurid Empire who had been fearing the rise of Nagara as a larger military power. Because of this an invasion was launched when Orus II died and the crown passed to his young son Pedro III the Hammer of Temur. Despite his young age young Pedro took the lead in defeating the invaders. Requisitioning a ship he lead his navy in crushing the Temurid navy in the battle of Cape Zadar. The Temurid took serious losses and soon after that sued for peace though their goals were achieved the Nagaran navy having taken too many losses to have any plans of invasion of their own. Development of the Unitarian Heresy and Expansion in Trade (1064 FoT to 1112 FoT) With the invasion pushed back Pedro III took up the task of rebuilding the Nagaran fleet. Since trade with the Temurids had stopped the crown needed a new way to bring in more money. Because of this the King funded an exploration voyage to map a way to Dar that required no stops along the Temur coast. The voyage was successful and trade relation were established. This sparked a brief golden age of culture and trade. The translation of ancient Darish literature and plays inspired writers like Valentin Sequeira and Alberto Simões revitalizing the literature of Nagara with new foreign influence. With the filtering in of new philosophies and ways of thought a new religious began developing. Dissatisfied with the teachings of both the Church of the Aspect and the Church of the Eight these new faithful rejected the notion of Aspects and Saints instead saying that faith should be instead directed to God. They also wanted to tear down the complex power structure of the church and replace with a simpler structure where the singular priest is the most important cornerstone. These Unitarians, as they were called, soon started to come up against the religious freedom laws. Since the church couldn't prosecute them for practicing the religion in their own homes they started finding crevel ways of arresting people accused of heresy. The conflict between the Church and the Unitarians was soon a big enough problem to cause riots and violent clashes. The War of the Five Princes (1112 FoT to 1199 FoT) As religious tensions were growing in Nagara word began to reach Chelice of the troubles.There the Unitarian church had taken hold much more strongly and most nobles had converted. This also included the Andalus family who since their exile had become minor nobility in the foreign country. Anti Nagaran sentiment began to grow in the country but since the trade ties between the countries were so strong all out war would have been unwise. Instead using Unitarian and Chelice funds five Andalus princes hired five mercenary bands. With these considerable forces they made their way to their erstwhile homeland to recapture the throne their great great grandmother lost. The coming war would become known as the War of the Five Princes.